Alone
on Guadalcanal : A Coastwatcher's Storyby Martin Clemens, Allan R. Millett (Introduction)
Superb account of the early days of an Australian coastwatcher in the
Solomon Islands during WWII who joined forces with the US Marines.
Hardcover - 240 pages (November )United States Naval Inst.; ISBN: 155750122X

Bravery
Above Blunder: The 9th Australian Division at Finschhafen, Sattelberg and
Sioby John Coates
This book describes the 9th Australian Division's role in the Allied
counter-offensive against Japan in northern New Guinea in 1943-44. There
has been little written about this campaign. Lieutenant-General John Coates,
a former Chief of the General Staff, Australian Army, has interviewed veterans
and studied Australian, American, and Japanese records to describe and
analyze the campaign. Amazon.com(Hardcover)

Green
Hell : The Battle for Guadalcanal (Hellgate Memories Series)by William J. Owens
Green Hell: The Battle for Guadalcanal is about the events and the people behind one of the most critical battles in the Pacific Theater of World War II. The story of Americans, Australians, New Zealanders, and the enemy Japanese in the sweltering morass of mud and dust fighting for a desperate hold on the Canal. It allow you to envision the turmoil of battle and the stories of the heroes that emerged.
(Paperback)

Left
to Die : The Tragedy of the USS Juneauby Dan Kurzman
In 1942 the U.S. cruiser Juneau was sunk near Guadalcanal. Because
of a mistaken belief that there were no survivors and several other successive
errors, the 180 men who survived the sinking were reduced by thirst, wounds,
and shark attack during the course of a week to only 10. Roland GreenPaperback - 352 pages Reissue edition Pocket Books; ISBN: 0671748742

The
Struggle for Guadalcanal, August 1942-February 1943by Samuel Eliot MorisonDuring the six months covered by volume five of Samuel Eliot Morison's
magnificent history, the United States Navy fought six major engagements
in waters surrounding Guadalcanal, more bitter and bloody than any naval
battle in American history since. Amazon.comUniv of Illinois Pr (Trd)Paperback - 456 pagesVol 005 Reprint edition

Guadalcanal
Diaryby Mark Bowden, Richard Tregaskis
Amazon.com ReviewIn the summer and fall of 1942, American Marines landed on the South
Pacific island of Guadalcanal and began the slow, bloody work of defeating
the Japanese empire. Their landing was significant not only for the outcome
of World War II, but also for the conduct of war ever since, for the invasion
of Guadalcanal marked the first time that a combined air, sea, and land
assault had ever been attempted. It is for that reason that tacticians
and military historians study the months-long battle today, and their primary
guide to that conflict is Richard Tregaskis's extraordinary Guadalcanal
Diary.
A volunteer combat correspondent, Tregaskis braved much danger to bring
the story of the fighting to American readers. But he was not one to celebrate
his own exploits, and in the pages of his book, he centers on the brave
young men from all over the United States who fought and died in appalling
numbers. His attention to detail yields arresting descriptions of attacks
and counterattacks, of moments of low morale and of exaltation, of moments
of quiet behind the lines and of sheer terror at the very point of engagement.
Tregaskis's style is unadorned and matter-of-fact, and his present-tense
narrative places the reader in the thick of the battle during those "hopeless
weeks."
--Gregory McNamee
Paperback from Modern Library

Bloody
Ridge: The Battle That Saved Guadalcanalby Michael T. Smith
September 1942: American forces landed on the island of Guadalcanal, engaging the entrenched Japanese in what would be remembered as some of the worst fighting of World War II. The key to victory lay in controlling the ridge overlooking Henderson Field, a vital airfield and the prize of the Guadalcanal campaign.
This was the site of a savage, three-day clash that would test the mettle of both sides. Launching a series of vicious attacks on successive nights, a vastly superior force of battle-hardened Japanese somehow lost to a mongrel battalion of Col. "Red Mike" Edson's malnourished, sickly Marines in what became known as the Battle of Bloody Ridge. The surprising victory marked the first significant Japanese defeat in the war, saved the airfield, and gave the small, under-supplied American force time to receive supplies and reinforcements.
This is the true story of that harrowing battle, when the fate of the war in the Pacific would rest with those who were tough enough to take Bloody Ridge.
Mass Market Paperback from Pocket Books